HISTORIC NIGHT: Mark Gyorfy, left, and Jeff Grayzel win Morris Township Committee seats, giving their party control of the governing body for the first time in memory, Nov. 6, 2018. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Grossi, a Republican from Parsippany, handily held off Democrat Shala Gagliardi to win re-election for a five-year term.

The GOP Freeholder slate of incumbent Deborah Smith of Denville, John Krickus of Long Valley and Stephen H. Shaw of Mountain Lakes prevailed over Democrats Mary Dougherty of Morristown, Richard Corcoran of Boonton and Rupande Mehta of Denville

Republican Bob Hugin beat Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) in Morris County by roughly the same margin that he lost, statewide, to the embattled lawmaker.

Mikie Sherrill at her first press conference as Congresswoman-elect, Nov. 6, 2018. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

But Democratic Congressional candidate Mikie Sherrill bested Republican Jay Webber of Morris Plains by about 9 points in Morris County’s portion of District 11. Sherrill’s margin across the entire District (parts of Morris, Essex, Passaic and Sussex counties) was a bit higher.

Sherrill will succeed retiring Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, a Republican fixture in Congress for 24 years.

“We’re going to put residents first in Morris Township… because we think residents have been neglected for a long time. You’ll see a new kind of Morris Township in 2019,” said Grayzel, who has run nine times since 2003. This will be his third non-consecutive term.

It was the first campaign for Gyorfy, who is just 26.

“People were tired of not knowing what was going on in town hall,” Gyrofy said at a victory party at The Social pub in Morristown.

Video: Morris Township Dems celebrate historic victory:

Sisler, who is chief of staff for state Assemblyman Anthony M. Bucco (R-25th Dist.), could not be reached for comment on Tuesday evening.

Grayzel’s win also marked the second time he has beaten Calvanelli. A decade ago, Calvanelli narrowly defeated Grayzel–and then lost after a recount and special election.

During this race, Republicans stressed years of stable taxes. Grayzel accused the GOP of cutting “back room deals” with builders and springing development plans on the public with scant notice. His newsletter publicizing Committee proposals has gained a large following.

Gyorfy, a volunteer fireman for a decade, said Township government should emulate the responsiveness of its firefighters.

Sisler has contended the Township deploys social media adroitly to communicate with residents. At a candidates’ forum last month, he urged caution when considering adding costly sidewalks and sharing services with neighboring towns–initiatives favored by the Democrats.

The Republicans also differed sharply with their opponents over immigration policy. Sisler defended the Committee’s rejection of a “Fair and Welcoming” policy similar to one adopted by Morristown, saying legal protections for immigrants already exist.

While supporting a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, Calvanelli suggested “Sanctuary Cities” invite gangs–which he said exist in neighboring communities that he did not name.

Contested races used to be fairly rare in the regional Morris School District, which encompasses Morristown, Morris Township and (for high school) Morris Plains.

Contentious ones were even rarer.

Sparks flew at a candidates forum last month when John Creamer suggested Vij Pawar might have conflicts on the school board, because of his job as the town’s municipal attorney.

The town and school district each have budgets that impact property taxes, after all. Creamer criticized the town for allowing some developers to skip paying school taxes altogether.

Pawar, who was endorsed by Mayor Tim Dougherty, insisted he had “skin in the game” as the father of two young children in the district.

Moreover, as an immigrant from India, Pawar said he would bring diversity to the board. He also vowed not to become a “rubber stamp” for District Superintendent Mackey Pendergrast–whose leadership Creamer praised.

“I represent the residents of Morristown. They elected me. I’m going to work to make ssure their interests are represented,” Pawar said at Tuesday’s victory party.

He reiterated he is not an elected official in the town government, but would recuse himself from board votes “under very limited circumstances.”

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